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HandgunForum.Net Rules

Forum Guidelines
Forum rules for HandGunForum.net

Please Read:

• DISCLAIMER: Messages posted in HandGunForum.net are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of HandGunForum.net. We are not responsible for any messages posted by members, do not vouch for or warrant their accuracy, completeness or usefulness, and are not responsible for their contents.

• WHO IS WELCOME: Broadly stated, the goals of this forum are to further civil discussion of firearms. If your intention is to disrupt this discussion or to deride your fellow forum members you should not participate in this discussion site. You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not post any material that is in violation of the forum rules. Due to liability concerns, no one under 18 years of age is allowed register and post on the forum.

• CONCERNING ISSUES OF FREE SPEECH AND CENSORSHIP: Your membership in this community is voluntary and the requirement of compliance with forum rules is in no way a restriction of anyone’s free speech.

• NONPARTICIPATION OPTION: As stated above, all members of handgunforum.net have joined voluntarily. The administrators and moderators try their best to be fair, and to make this forum a welcoming place for members who want to be here. If you don't like handgunforum.net, the members of this forum, the moderators, the administrators or the forum rules, then you may choose to not participate.

• FORUM MODERATORS: All of the moderators on this discussion board are volunteers. They provide their time and their good judgment to this forum free of charge. They do not make the rules; they only enforce the rules. They do not deserve to be treated harshly either publicly or privately. The moderators have broad discretion to act in the interests of maintaining the civility and goals of this discussion.

• FORUM ADMINISTRATION: HandGunForum.net administrators reserve the right to remove any message for any reason and take any actions necessary to maintain the civility and goals of this forum. The administrators ultimately decide all issues related to this forum. Administrators reserve the right to change the forum rules without prior notice and for any reason. If you think a moderator has acted inappropriately, please contact an administrator via PM so we can address your concern.

• CRITICISM OF MODERATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS: The forum is an inappropriate venue for publicly discussing any problems you may have with the rules or the administration of the forum. Please contact the moderators or administrators privately by email or PM if you have concerns about rules and administration. In order to respect the privacy of our members we do not discuss disciplinary actions with anyone but the member concerned.

• HARASSMENT OF MODERATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS: If you have a problem with anything on this message board, it is very important that you follow the grievance procedure (see below). Once you have exhausted all 5 steps, you will have to live with the decision made by the administrators. Under no circumstances should you harass anyone on the moderating/administrative teams in any way. This includes, but is not limited to, sending numerous PMs or emails, using obscene or profane language directed at any member of the mod/admin teams, or making derisive statements about members of the mod/admin team on the public message board.

• POSTING RESTRICTIONS: Repeated failure to follow forum rules will result in your membership privileges being limited or revoked. This may include requiring pre-approval of posts by a moderator, temporary suspension of topic start or posting permissions and/or denial of access to the e-mail/PM system.

• PROHIBITED TOPICS: The discussion of any illegal activity is strictly prohibited. This is a no-tolerance issue. Members who are in violation of this rule will have their accounts closed upon the first infraction with no warnings given. SHTF, TEOWAWKI, & Zombies: SHTF (S#*t Hits The Fan), TEOWAWKI (The End of The World As We Know It) and Zombie threads (this includes any fictitious or yet to be verified creature) are prohibited. Legitimate discussion about short-term survival from a natural disaster like a hurricane or flood will be allowed, but will be closely moderated and threads closed without warning at the first sign of deviation. Violations of this rule will result in warnings and account closure depending on the frequency and severity of the offensives. “Gangsta” talk: “Gangsta” talk and slang is prohibited. Depending on the severity of the infraction, a member may receive a simple warning or may have their account closed.

• BANNING: Administrators have complete discretion to sanction any member, up to and including ending their membership. Depending on the nature of the problem, the member may not receive any notification prior to moderator action. Certain offenses or patterns of behavior are considered grounds for banning a member: repeated rules violations, obscenity, bigotry, threats, multiple accounts, deliberate disruptive behavior and abuse of e-mail/PM system.

• POST CONTENT: Choose appropriate language. "Flaming", insults, name-calling, and foul language are not acceptable. Any material (including topic titles, links, avatars, images and signatures) that, is hostile, harassing, defaming, derisive, offensive or abusive will not be allowed, and will result in the post being edited or removed from view. We do not allow personal attacks on other members either in public forums.

• IMAGES AND AVATARS: Images and avatars that contain offensive, abusive, threatening or pornographic material will not be allowed, and will result in the image or avatar being removed from view. If you think that the image may be offensive to someone, then it probably is.

• LINKS AND ADVERTISEMENTS: This forum does not normally permit the posting of any advertisements. Links are permitted if posted in the body of your message, but we reserve the right to remove any we consider inappropriate. Blatant promotion of products is not permitted. Contact the administrators if you or your company are interested in advertising on HandGunForum.net. There are now advertising options available on HandGunForum.net. Any exceptions are strictly at the discretion of the forum administrators. Due to abuses in the past, Links promoting other forums are not allowed. Links to other forums are only allowed when used in a thread or post relating to the subject at hand and is directed to a specific topic/link. Administrators and Moderators will still retain the right to remove any link interpreted as "Advertising or Promoting".

• Classifieds Guidelines and Rules: HandGunForum.net and it's owner(s) are not liable for any transactions what so ever. Due to past issues a 50 post rule has been put into place before any member is allowed to post in the Classifieds section of this forum. There are no exceptions. This is also to ensure a trusting environment for members to sell and trade in. Anyone posting a classified in another section of this forum, trying to bypass the 50 post requirement, will either receive just one warning before their account is locked or may have their account locked without a warning. This will be left up to the discretion of an Administrator or Moderator.

1. No commercial sales, no exceptions. If you're a dealer and want to advertise specials, please contact JS about advertising on HandGunForum.net.

2. No more than 4 ads are allowed at any time. If you have several items for sale, consider placing them in one or two large ads.

3. Secondary accounts are not allowed in the Classified Section. Anyone found posting items for sale under two names will have both their accounts locked.

4. All ads should have HONEST, detailed descriptions and the merchandise for sale must be priced! You must have valid contact information and provide same to HandGunForum.net admin staff when asked. Failure to provide valid contact information may subject your account to a locked status until the information is provided.

7. No posting of anything illegal. If you post illegal items your account will be locked.

8. Once your item is sold, edit only the title of the ad to append "SOLD" to the exisitng title. Do not delete or edit the original title, ad text, or asking price. Adding a notice to the ad text that states the item is sold is acceptable.

9. Only actual firearms in the "Handgun Area" and all accessories, including mags, etc. in the Gear & Accessories area.

The following rules are specific to “BTT”, or bumping ads to the top of the page:

1. No BTT's until your ad is 48 hours old.

2. All changes/updates should be done with the edit feature to the original post, not by adding another response.

• SECURITY THREATS: You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this forum to engage in predatory behavior, stalking or to post any material which is threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law. You shall not upload, e-mail, post or transmit to, or distribute or otherwise publish through HandGunForum.net any material which: constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense (including threats of unauthorized access to a computer or network), potentially give rise to civil liability (including claims of defamation and/or libel), or otherwise violate the local, state, or national laws of any country.

• PERSONAL INFORMATION: Remember that the general public can view all personal information in your user profile and posted messages. Before posting or editing your profile, make certain that you are posting information you want others to know.

• PRIVACY OF OTHERS: Please do not post personal information about any person, even if that information is publicly available. You may post the public contact information for public figures or officials, but you may not post anyone's (including your own) private information. If you wish to share any personal information with another member, please do it by e-mail and it is entirely at your own discretion and risk.

• SIGNATURES: Signature use is only allowed for "Supporting Members". Please limit the text in your signature line to only one paragraph, quote, idea, or comment. Posting "non-commercial" links or images in your signature are permitted. Due to agreements made with paying advertisers, no commerical links or advertising for firearm related products is allowed.

• USERNAMES: Account names must adhere to the general rules of this forum. Hostile, obscene, offensive, harassing or defamatory usernames will not be permitted. No business related usernames are allowed, the only exceptions are for vendors who have paid for advertising on the forum. The use of e-mail addresses as usernames is prohibited for the protection of members’ privacy.

• MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS: Previously banned members will be immediately banned, regardless of behavior. Don't represent yourself as another person. If you are caught posting with multiple accounts after being banned, all will be banned. Remember, IP addresses are logged.

• ABUSE OF E-MAIL AND PRIVATE MESSAGE SYSTEM: Members may not use their accounts here to spam other members, either via e-mail, private message, or any other messaging client. Posting the contents of an e-mail or private message without the sender's permission is not permitted. Abuse of the e-mail or private message system is considered a banning offense and we encourage members to report this type of activity to the moderating team or administrator.

• GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE: Any objections to moderator or administrator actions taken on HandGunForum.net must be dealt with using the following grievance procedure:

1. If you disagree with a moderator's action on another member, it is up to that member to take it up with us. We do not discuss disciplinary actions with anyone but the member concerned out of respect for their privacy.

2. If you believe another member's post is uncivil or in violation of the meeting rules, please do not respond to the member in kind. Contact a moderator or administrator with a link to the post in question. This will NOT guarantee that we will see things your way however, because we can get complaints from members on both sides of heated debates. We let the rules guide us in these matters.

3. If you disagree with a moderator's action concerning yourself, it is required that you contact the moderator in question for clarification. We do not permit public criticism of the mods or admins and doing so will be considered an additional infraction.

4. If after communicating with a moderator, you are still dissatisfied you may contact any member of the administrating team.

5. Any decisions made by the administrative team are final. Attempts to circumvent this grievance procedure will be considered harassment and a banning offense.